CELPIP Speaking Task 3: Describing a Scene

CELPIP Speaking Task 3 Sample Answer: Indoor Climbing Gym on a Rainy Day

This prompt asks you to describe a busy indoor climbing gym to someone who cannot see it. The tricky part is explaining height as well as left and right, so the listener knows who is high on the wall and who is below.

Preparation

30 seconds

Speaking

60 seconds

Picture

A detailed illustration

The question

CELPIP Speaking Task 3 practice picture: Indoor Climbing Gym on a Rainy Day

Describe some things that are happening in the picture below as well as you can. The person with whom you are speaking cannot see the picture.

How to plan your answer

What they want

Describe an indoor climbing gym on a rainy day, where a climber's chalk bag is falling toward a man tying his shoe, to someone who cannot see it.

Plan (60 sec)

Big picture: a tall gym with colourful climbing holds on the walls and rain on the arched windows.
Centre: a woman in a purple top reaches for a hold; her red chalk bag is falling, spilling white chalk, right above a man in yellow who kneels on the mat to tie his climbing shoe.
Left: a child in a white helmet climbs on a rope while a boy in green holds it below; two kids sit on thick blue mats.
Right: at the front desk, staff work; a mother helps a toddler near a shoe rack.
Background: high up, two climbers high-five, and another hangs upside down.

Useful vocabulary

climbing wall, holds, harness, helmet
chalk bag, rope, crash mat, front desk

Phrases

"In the centre of the picture,..."
"On the left-hand side,..."
"Higher up on the wall,..."

Avoid

Saying what the bag will hit; that is Part 4.
Listing people without saying what they're doing.

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

This is a busy indoor climbing gym on a rainy day. You can see the rain streaking down two tall arched windows at the back. The walls are covered in brightly coloured holds, and the floor is padded with thick blue crash mats. In the centre, a woman in a purple tank top and black leggings is stretching for a yellow hold, but her red chalk bag has come loose from her harness, and it's dropping through the air, trailing a cloud of white chalk. Directly underneath, a man in a yellow T-shirt is kneeling on the mat, focused on lacing up his red climbing shoes, with no idea what's coming. On the left, a kid in a white helmet is climbing on a rope while an older boy belays. High up on the right, two climbers in blue helmets are high-fiving on a ledge, and someone's dangling upside down beneath them.

152 words

Why it scores high

Content/Coherence: "rain streaking down two tall arched windows" sets the atmosphere first, then the description moves from the centre to the left and up high.
Vocabulary: Specialized and vivid words like "crash mats," "belays," "trailing a cloud of white chalk" and "dangling upside down" show exceptional precision.
Task Fulfillment: "with no idea what's coming" links the falling bag to the man below, highlighting the picture's tension without drifting into prediction.

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

This picture shows an indoor climbing gym on a rainy day. The walls are covered with colourful climbing holds, and there are thick blue mats on the floor. In the centre, a woman in a purple tank top is climbing and reaching for a hold. Her red chalk bag is falling from her harness, and white chalk is spilling out. Right below her, a man in a yellow T-shirt is kneeling on the mat, tying his climbing shoe. On the left, a child in a white helmet is climbing on a rope, and a boy in a green shirt is holding the rope for him. Up high on the right, two climbers are giving each other a high five, and another person is hanging upside down.

126 words

What works, and what's missing

Content/Coherence: The description moves from walls and mats to the centre climber, then "Right below her" to the man, linking the two key figures clearly.
Vocabulary: Accurate terms like "climbing holds," "harness" and "spilling out" help the listener picture the gym and the falling bag.
Task Fulfillment: Coverage is broad, yet the man is never shown to be unaware of the bag above him, which would sharpen the scene's main point.

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

This picture is inside a climbing gym. Outside is raining. There is big wall with many colourful holds, and blue mats on the floor. In the middle, a woman in purple top is climbing. Her red chalk bag is falling down and the chalk is coming out. Under her, a man in yellow T-shirt is kneeling and tie his shoe. On the left, a kid with white helmet is climbing with a rope, and a boy in green shirt hold the rope. On the right, a mother help a small girl near the bench.

94 words

What holds it back

Vocabulary: Verb-form slips such as "a man in yellow T-shirt is kneeling and tie his shoe" and "a boy in green shirt hold the rope" recur throughout.
Content/Coherence: "In the middle," "On the left" and "On the right" give a basic map, but the upper wall, with climbers high-fiving and hanging upside down, is never placed.
Task Fulfillment: Bare statements like "Outside is raining" and "There is big wall" set the scene with little detail, so the listener gets few clues about the gym's atmosphere.

These are original CELPass examples written at each level. The CLBs are our estimates, not official CELPIP scores. How we estimate CLB